Memoirs of the Queensland Museum – Culture 10

From Flame to Fame: Transformation of firesticks to art in North Queensland

Authors

Henry, R. 

Citation

Henry, R. 2016. From Flame to Fame: Transformation of firesticks to art in North Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum – Culture 10: 59-75. Brisbane. ISSN 2205-3220

Date published

December 2016

DOI

https://doi.org/10.17082/j.2205-3239.10.2016-05

Keywords

firesticks, Rainforest Aboriginal, John Archibald Boyd, John Gaggin, Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre, Bagu, Jiman

Abstract

Among the many different kinds of artefacts collected in the rainforest region of North Queensland by European collectors during the late 1800s and early 1900s is a uniquely shaped fire-making tool. This paper explores the significance of such fire-makers for the Aboriginal people who originally made them, the collectors who sought them, and Aboriginal artists today who reference them in contemporary works of art for a global art market. Tracing the history of transactions concerning this particular type of fire-maker provides a dynamic field for reflection on the concept of value.